EXCLUSIVE: The drama series from Apple TV+ Shantaram, starring Charlie Hunnam, will not be returning for a second season. The season one finale, which will be released tomorrow, December 16, will serve as the series finale.
Based on the epic 900+ page novel by Gregory David Roberts Shantaram was an ambitious, large-scale endeavor filmed on two continents and impacted by the pandemic.
The series had filmed two episodes before filming paused in late February 2020. Due to its expansion, which required filming in several countries, the series did not resume production on the remaining 10 episodes until May 2021.
Shantaram, which hasn’t garnered as much attention as some of Apple TV+’s popular titles, follows Lin Ford (Hunnam) as he escapes from a maximum-security Australian prison, reinvents himself as a doctor in the slums of 1980s Bombay, and becomes involved with him local mafia boss and eventually uses his skills as a weapons smuggler and counterfeiter to fight against the invading Russian troops in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, he falls in love with an enigmatic and intriguing woman named Karla (Antonia Desplat) and must choose between freedom or love and the complications that come with it.
The series also stars Shubham Saraf, Elektra Kilbey, Fayssal Bazzi, Luke Pasqualino, Alyy Khan, Sujaya Dasgupta, Vincent Perez, David Field, Alexander Siddig, Gabrielle Scharnitzky, Elham Ehsas, Rachel Kamath, Matthew Joseph and Shiv Palekar.
Before Roberts’ book got the green light on Apple TV+ as a series, it was the subject of several unsuccessful attempts to turn it into a movie franchise, led by Johnny Depp.
That Shantaram The series was written and executive produced by showrunner Steve Lightfoot. Bharat Nalluri directed and was executive producer. Executive Producers are Andrea Barron, Nicole Clemens, Steve Golin, Justin Kurzel and Eric Warren Singer, who co-developed the series with Lightfoot. The series was produced by Paramount Television Studios and AC Studios by Anonymous Content for Apple.